New York / Past Exhibitions

Show MeLindsey Adelman06/26/15 – 08/01/15

Wright is pleased to present Show Me, an exhibition of new work by Lindsey Adelman featuring the premiere of her first-ever originally composed music video. A new body of work made in conjunction with the video expands the boundaries of the designer’s practice beyond her well-known lighting works. Comprised of new forms and mediums, the exhibition includes specially crafted mirrors, jewelry and objects.

Show Me marks new territory for Adelman and her studio as she uses her mastery of lighting to create an immersive installation and experience. Show Me will be on view at Wright, 980 Madison Avenue in New York from June 26th – August 1st, with an opening reception June 25 from 6 – 8pm.

Opening Reception25 June 20156 – 8pm

“Most of my work incorporates a system of constraints and elements that run wild. This exhibition is a fantasy-based expansion of that struggle. Ultimately the battle between restraint and release is beautiful and it is the opportunity to create objects, which represent that relationship that is the thrill. Design is about the correlation of human and objects and I want to make objects, which become part of people’s life. The real life of my work begins after I say goodbye to it, and I wanted to use music and performance to capture that.”— Lindsey Adelman

Exhibition Preview

“You zoom out to think about, I have a life, I’ll walk around the earth until the end of that. What the hell do I want to do with that time? It’s so open.”— Lindsey Adelman

Images & Sketches

“We have long admired the work of Lindsey Adelman, and these incredible works show the true creative force behind them. It seemed fitting to take the opportunity to diverge from expectations by working with someone who has continually done just that with her work. We are excited to have the opportunity to present an installation that is creative, innovative and fun. This exhibition is also an expression of Wright’s commitment to design, a vision that is not limited to the great works of the past but also those great moments being created now.”— Brent Lewis, Wright

An Interview with Lindsey Adelman

by Brent Lewis

The works in this exhibition are culmination of an impressive creative endeavor by Lindsey Adelman and her studio, who without a specific goal in mind intentionally structured a strange and fantastic creative space from which these objects ultimately emerged. In drama, it is something unexpected which compels the story forward, and the filming of a music video is a compelling catalyst in the dramatic narrative of Lindsey Adelman Studio. As these works were imagined, created and now installed, they pose new questions which remain subtly unanswered. These intriguing and beautiful objects have grown out of a creative journey not yet complete.This exhibition grew out of a conversation I had with Lindsey Adelman.

Brent Lewis: You have said that you are an industrial designer and industrial design is about the relationship between humans and objects. How does that come into play when you are designing?

Lindsey Adelman: We often see products and furniture presented without people. It's important that an object looks good on its own, but its real function is to become a part of a human being's life. I like the fact that the chandeliers I design are merely a backdrop to what the real action is in the household or space. It is like a soundtrack. They witness parties and fights and homework and tenderness and anxiety and breakthroughs and celebrations. The work I do is not the last word. The life of my work begins after I say goodbye to it.

BL: Can you give me an example of how thinking about this relationship changes your work?

LA: I don't want my work to feel precious or separate from people. I want what I make to make people feel better! I am in the midst of a few projects using video and photography that portray people and objects I have that illustrate this: they’re hiding under the daybed, dancing on a sofa, sneaking along the walls with ornaments, turning on lights; wearing jewelry, living with it and interacting with it and touching it. I don't want to design things that the owners feel separated by or afraid of - I want them to look beautiful, old and worn.

BL: You’re talking about the power an object has in shaping our experience.

LA: Think about every bit of matter that you look at and touch every day. It affects you and you affect it. I am starting to pay more and more attention to what this all means and the impact is fascinating. Our possessions reflect parts of ourselves that we both like and don't like. An example is something we keep for longer than we should out of fear of offending someone, or maybe fear that it may be the wrong decision to part with it or even just procrastination. But objects can be like bad habits. Getting rid of something can be freeing. Same with things we love; some things make us feel amazing or special. Some make us feel like we have good taste, a good eye, or are simply flattering to our way of living. Some represent a secret with ourselves or just make us happy in a way that can't be explained when we touch it or see it. These are all good things.

BL: Do you think of these types of dramas when you are designing?

LA: I think a lot about fantasy when I design. It is fascinating that interior decorating and furniture collecting can often be about an individual's desire to transform him or herself. I think this is great! I have met with clients that I can tell are after something that is different from their present state. Whether it is to be more of a minimalist, less materialistic, or appear to be successful, or socially-aware. Or more simply, just to finally create the home they have always dreamed of - because they have changed and their home can represent that change.

BL: I see a connection between the inner tension that represents and some of the visual forms you create, which seem to both show a great deal of restraint, but also things that kind of spill over or run outside the lines.

LA: Just about everything I design incorporates a system of constraints alongside elements that run wild.

BL: The best part of visiting your studio was getting a glimpse of so many projects that seem totally unrelated to the work for which you are most well-known, prototype lamps, neon light and a music video??

LA: Yes! The company has two departments, the Department of Reality and the Department of Fantasy; they are both important! The Department of Reality is self-explanatory, but I am aggressive about carving out time for our Fantasy projects. This is about making work out of a craving. It is not responding to demand. There are many facets to this; it is demanding but immeasurably rewarding.

This interview was published in part by Cultured Magazine in winter of 2014.

“I see us as this creative group of people and a design studio that produces immaterial solutions or immaterial offerings.”— Lindsey Adelman

Select Works

Tuxedo Necklace

polished, solid 14k gold and 14k gold chain

Shady Side Mirror

hand-sculpted, gilt wood

Shady Side Illuminated Mirror

hand-sculpted gilt wood and hand-blown glass with 24k gold foil

Shady Side Candelabrum

machined and hand-sculpted brass

Shady Side Illuminated Mirror

hand-sculpted, gilt wood and hand-blown glass with 24k gold foil

Shady Side Sconce

machined and hand-sculpted brass

Ear Cuff with Fringe

solid 14k gold and 14k gold chain

Shady Side Mirror

“I am folding in the personal interests of the company. People often ask that first question, “how did you come up with this idea of doing a music video?”, when it doesn’t feel like that at all. It just feels like it was in me, and I got an opportunity to let it out and bring my daily work life into it. These cravings that I see all day, just riding the subway with your ipod and seeing the choreography on the poles of the subway. All the time, I see dancers and dancing, and I love thinking about fashion and I love thinking about wallpaper and jewelry, and so in a way I’m just an opportunist coming up with ideas for these projects.”— Lindsey Adelman

About Lindsey Adelman

Lindsey Adelman is a New York City-based designer and creative director best known for her renowned lighting designs such as the Branching Bubble chandelier. Inspired by structural forms found in nature, as well as the visual tension that results from combining the organic nature of blown glass with the more rational machined components, her signature chandeliers have made her one of the most in-demand lighting designers in America.

Lindsey Adelman Studio, founded in 2006, works with an expanded materials palette, indulging a preoccupation with a room’s oft-neglected spaces to create products ranging from concrete tiles to wallpaper to blankets and jewelry. All work is designed and built in Adelman’s Manhattan studio, in collaboration with local manufacturers who develop and produce custom parts for new work and special projects. Forms and ideas evolve collaboratively through 1:1 model-making and testing. With skill and care, our team of 20+ and a small network of local artisans manufacture each piece.

Lindsey Adelman first discovered industrial design while working as an editorial assistant at the Smithsonian, and later went on to receive a degree in industrial design from the Rhode Island School of Design. Before establishing her own studio, she worked for Resolute Lighting in Seattle, and founded the lighting company Butter with David Weeks in 2000. Adelman’s work has been exhibited and can be found in the best design showrooms throughout the world.